A Thousand Pictures Is Worth One Word

In spite of constant headlines about debts and deficits, most
Americans don’t really believe the U.S. dollar will collapse. From
knowledgeable investors who study the markets to those seemingly too
busy to worry about such things, most dismiss the idea of the dollar
actually going to zero.

History has a message for us: No fiat currency has lasted forever. Eventually, they all fail.

BMG
BullionBars recently published a poster featuring pictures of numerous
currencies that have gone bust. Some got there quickly, while others
took a century or more. Regardless of how long it took, though, the
seductive temptations allowed under a fiat monetary system eventually
caught up with these governments, and their currencies went poof!

You
might suspect this happened only to third world countries. You’d be
wrong. There was no discrimination as to the size or perceived stability
of a nation’s economy; if the leaders abused their currency, the
country paid the price.

As you scroll through the currencies
below, you’ll see some long-ago casualties. What’s shocking, though, is
how many have occurred in our lifetime. You might count how many
currencies have failed since you’ve been born.

So what’s the one word for the “thousand pictures” below? Worthless.

Yugoslavia – 10 billion dinar, 1993

Zaire – 5 million zaires, 1992

Venezuela – 10,000 bolívares, 2002

Ukraine – 10,000 karbovantsiv, 1995

Turkey – 5 million lira, 1997

Russia – 10,000 rubles, 1992

Romania – 50,000 lei, 2001

Central Bank of China – 10,000 CGU, 1947

Peru – 100,000 intis, 1989

Nicaragua – 10 million córdobas, 1990

Hungary – 10 million pengo, 1945

Greece – 25,000 drachmas, 1943

Germany – 1 billion mark, 1923

Georgia – 1 million laris, 1994

France – 5 livres, 1793

Chile – 10,000 pesos, 1975

Brazil – 500 cruzeiros reais, 1993

Bosnia – 100 million dinar, 1993

Bolivia – 5 million pesos bolivianos, 1985

Belarus – 100,000 rubles, 1996

Argentina – 10,000 pesos argentinos, 1985

Angola – 500,000 kwanzas reajustados, 1995

Zimbabwe – 100 trillion dollars, 2006

So,
will a similar fate befall the U.S. dollar? The common denominator that
led to the downfall of each currency above was the two big Ds: Debts
and Deficits.

With that in mind, consider the following:

Morgan
Stanley reported in 2009 that there’s “no historical precedent” for an
economy that exceeds a 250% debt-to-GDP ratio without experiencing some
sort of financial crisis or high inflation. Our total debt now exceeds
GDP by roughly 400%.

Investment legend
Marc Faber reports that once a country’s payments on debt exceed 30% of
tax revenue, the currency is “done for.” On our current path, analyst
Michael Murphy projects we’ll hit that figure by October.

Peter
Bernholz, the leading expert on hyperinflation, states unequivocally
that “hyperinflation is caused by government budget deficits.” This
year’s U.S. budget deficit will end up being $1.5 trillion, an amount
never before seen in history.

Since the
Federal Reserve’s creation in 1913, the dollar has lost 95% of its
purchasing power. Our government leaders clearly don’t know how – or
don’t wish – to keep the currency strong.

Whether the dollar goes
to zero or merely becomes a second-class currency in the global arena,
the possibility of the greenback being added to the above list grows
every day. And this will lead to serious and painful consequences in our
standard of living. While money is only one of many problems we’ll have
to deal with, you can protect your assets with the one currency that
can’t be debased, devalued, or destroyed by irresponsible leaders.

Don’t
be the investor who dismisses this message from history. Use gold (and
silver) as your savings vehicle. Any excuse you have now will be
meaningless and irrelevant when we enter that fateful period. Make sure
you own enough precious metals to make a difference in your portfolio.

Because when it comes to money, worthless is not a fun word.

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I hope, just once, to see a commentary like this where the author demonstrates that he has at least a triple digit IQ by mentioning the following. And note that this does NOT include the fact that the dollar is the wolrds "reserve" currency. Soon to be replaced by some combination of Chinese, Brazil and Russian money. Right after flying pigs ice skate in hell.
1. We have, by far, more and bigger guns than any other country in the world. Combined with the UK and france we spend more than the rest of the world combined. Alone we have more Aircraft carrier battle groups than the rest of the world combined. God only knows why we need that much military. Are we planning on fighting Klingons?
2. We export more food than any other country in the world. You know, you can burn food, but you can not drink oil.
3. As the dollar drops in value, our exports go up.

4. None of the countries mentioned above were significant players in the international markets. When Germany had inflation, there were hardly any international markets.